Salonen and Blomstedt 2019
Elania and I thought we’d go check out the new guy at the SF Symphony in his first appearance since being named principle conductor.
wow…
Esa-Pekka Salonen assembled and masterfully executed a perfect program to highlight his and the orchestra’s considerable skills. Much more a precision conductor than MTT, though (like my conducting hero, Robert Shaw) rather than stultify, Salonen’s firm control over every last detail led to glorious, flowing, forward motion.
The way he gleamed and swung with the band made me all warm and fuzzy inside. Everyone was fully engaged to render one of the tightest live performances I’ve ever heard from a full orchestra.
It started off with Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s 2017 “Metacosmos”. An auspicious beginning, letting everyone know that modern music was going to be coming at us in the most transcendent way possible. And inaugurating his tenure with a gorgeous tone poem by a woman sent another delightfully clear message.
Next was the crowd-pleasing “Also Sprach Zarathustra” which he somehow managed to make seem not laborious at all after the whiz-bang intro (Ah, those long winded, always-in-need of an editor, post-romantics), but instead serving as a fitting companion to “Metacosmos”.
Then, Sibelius’ “FourLegends From Kalevala” filled the second half, taking us through a wide array of moving narratives.
A short Q&A after the concert gave us a further look inside his humor, thoughtfulness, and direction. One obvious but notable example: “How do you compare your composing and conducting?” “With conducting, I start from the end of a piece and work backwards. Composing is the retrograde.”
Lucky us.
As a freshman in college, I played Reiner and the Chicago Symphony’s recording of Beethoven’s Symphony #6 “Pastoral” on an endless loop, up to and including an orgasmic afternoon out in our Midwestern back yard while a monster, killer, horror, green sky, lightning and thunder storm approached. The storm section of the symphony climaxed at just the right time for me to get completely soaked.
After a lifetime loaded with exposure to and performance of his music, getting by without any more Ludwig Van wouldn’t be that much of a sacrifice. But in the last 3 months, we’ve somehow managed to catch sterling live performances of the 7thin Athens, the 9thin Seattle, and the 6thin SF last night. Not a bad way to go, I guess.
We went not so much for this piece, though it’s always a big, comfy chair that never disappoints, but to experience conductor Herbert Blomstedt in the flesh. Never got a chance when he was the principle conductor before MTT, and it seemed fitting to finally catch up with the Swede after taking in the new Finnish guy, Essa-Pekka Salonen, a week ago.
Blomstedt appeared to almost hobble to the podium, causing some concern that (at 91) he might not be up to the task. No worries at all once he got there. He conducted without a stick, spent most of the piece forcefully emphasizing the upbeat to propel things along, and lived up to his reputation as a warm, fluid maestro.
Side note: He arranged the orchestra in “European Seating”: 1stviolins, celli, basses on stage right, percussion and woodwinds in the middle, 2ndviolins, violas, and brass stage left. Have to say this works best for me.
After intermission, Mendelssohn’s “Scottish Symphony, #3” was another sweeping, beautifully orchestrated pastoral, but … where the hell were the bagpipes?
